Nowadays, it’s pretty common to find Asians (nearly) everywhere in the world. But people still have perceptions thinking a person or a country is this way or that. The Asians Elsewhere series aims to show diversity within the broader Asian group in a drive to shatter pre-conceived notions, stereotypes, assumptions that can annoy, threaten, or harm. We’ll look at Asians with backgrounds Canadians (and probably other people) don’t usually expect. In part 1, we sit down with John Ogawa to talk about his migration story, along with the genesis of the program, what’s in a name, and what’s up with John not having a phone in today’s era of, well, phones.

Gavin Hee is an occasional contributor to Ricepaper. He aims to connect people throughout the world interested in relatable, meaningful content by Asians. He was born and raised in North Vancouver and spent his formative twenties in Seoul where his concept of globalism transformed. He is particularly fond of pan-Asian themed stories of inter-cultural exchange and he is the founder of weshareinterests.com, a site he thinks you might enjoy since you are reading this. He encourages marginalized voices to build their own world so they are not stuck in someone else’s. Click on his name in the tags below to see all posts.

Featured Audio

Check out our latest podcast on migration. We call it Asians Elsewhere. This episode looks at a China to Japan story with our friend John Ogawa. For the full post with footnotes, click HERE.

LiterASIAN Festival 2018

Eleven authors will be attending LiterASIAN 2018. An eclectic blend of emerging and established writers, each individual brings their own style and voice to speak to the theme of Journey to the West: Writing Across the Pacific.

What We’re Reading

Looking to curl up with a good book? 'CURRENTS: A Ricepaper Anthology' is out now! Read the best from Ricepaper's new and upcoming writers, who tackle the pressing--and ever more relevant--question of what it means to be Asian Canadian.